[.ca] Teaching a Parrot to Talk (ISBN 0793830788)

Save your money and time.:
There is only about 1/3 of a page's worth of useful information in this book. And it's all the same stuff you can find in any good book about parrot care (start young, use structure, be animated, use contextual references, be patient). A book by Blanchard, Athan, or Doane will tell you these things, but they will also give you much more complete information on training and care. This book is, instead, filled with many big, glossy photographs. They are beautiful, but quite useless. Perhaps this is a good child's picture book.

Polly wanna help folks?:
This is a great book chocked full of wonderful ideas. I work for a large software company as a support liaison from my home. Because of this book I now spend a total of maybe one or two hours on the phone a day as opposed to my previous 8 hour a day mindless grind. I have taught my parrot how to activate speaker phone when she hears a ring along with a few key phrases like: "Please hold all of our representatives are currently assisting other customers.", "Is the caps lock on?", "Try and reboot the system." and "We are aware of the problem and working on it, please be patient." Much to my embarrassment though she has also picked up the phrase: "LEAVE ME ALONE YOU PARASITE!" do to listening to me speak with various telemarketers on the telephone. Oh well, one can not make an omelet with out breaking a few eggs. So anyway if you have a job that requires you to deal with the public this book will come in handy. I can now spend four or five hours a day on the phone with other support organizations trying to get my personal computer functioning properly.